Boney James

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox musical artist

Boney James (born James Oppenheim September 1, 1961) is an American saxophonist, recording artist, songwriter and record producer.

He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee (Best Pop Instrumental Album, 2001, 2004, 2014 and Best Traditional R&B Performance, 2009) and a Soul Train Award winner (Best Jazz Album 1998). He has also received three NAACP Image Award nominations for Best Jazz Album.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> James has sold over four million albums,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and has accumulated four RIAA Certified Gold Records. In 2009, Billboard magazine named James one of the Top 3 Billboard Contemporary Jazz Artists of the Decade. In 2024 James became the first artist to notch twenty #1 singles on the Billboard magazine SJ Chart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Biography

Born in Lowell Massachusetts, James took up the clarinet at the age of eight, switching to sax when he was ten.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> James spent his early teen years in New Rochelle, New York. He became musically influenced by the R&B Motown genre and saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. When he was fourteen his family moved to Los Angeles, where he joined a fusion band that opened for acts like Flora Purim and the Yellowjackets. Another member of this early band was John Shanks, now a successful pop producer.<ref name=billboard>Template:Cite magazine</ref> James eventually received a degree in history from UCLA, but began playing music full-time after graduation. James learned to play keyboards and in 1985 he joined Morris Day's band. His R&B influence was further strengthened by seven years of touring and sessions as a sideman with Day, The Isley Brothers, Bobby Caldwell, Randy Crawford, Teena Marie and others. It was on the road with Crawford in 1986 that he earned his now-famous moniker, when his physique led a bandmate to joke "We'll have to start calling you 'Boney' James!"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the early 1990s, while on tour with Bobby Caldwell's band, he met engineer and producer Paul Brown, beginning a 10-year period of collaboration. In 1992 he released his debut album as a leader, Trust, on the independent record label Spindletop Records. Following the record's success, he was signed by the Warner Brothers label in 1994, on which he released the RIAA Certified Gold Records Seduction, Sweet Thing and Body Language albums.

In 2000 he collaborated with trumpeter Rick Braun on an album called Shake it Up. Their duets include the now classic updated version of Hugh Masakela's "Grazin' in the Grass". Other artists who have made guest appearances on Boney's records include October London, Lalah Hathaway, Raheem DeVaughn, Faith Evans, George Benson, George Duke, Dwele, Al Jarreau, Philip Bailey, Anthony Hamilton, Jaheim, Eric Benét, Dave Hollister, Stokley Williams, Avery*Sunshine, Kenny Lattimore and Angie Stone.

James began co-producing his records with Brown in 1997, and assumed the role of sole producer starting with his Grammy-nominated Pure album in 2003. Template:AnchorFollowing a string of chart-topping albums, in 2006 James moved to Concord Records<ref name=billboard/> and released Shine which posted his highest Billboard Pop Chart positions to that date (No. 44 on the Top 200). His 2009 album, Send One Your Love earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance. His 2013 album The Beat received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album.

Returning home from a concert performance on May 15, 2010, his car was rear ended by a drunk driver, causing him a fractured jaw, two shattered teeth and facial lacerations which sidelined his career for two months.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>

In 2014, he produced two songs on Al Jarreau's George Duke tribute album My Old Friend, "No Rhyme No Reason" (feat. Kelly Price) and "Bring Me Joy" (feat. George Duke).<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2015, he released futuresoul which spent eleven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart and was the best selling Contemporary Jazz Record of 2015.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In August 2015, James made his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

2017 saw the release of Honestly, his sixteenth album, which became his eleventh No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart. It also reached No. 22 on the Billboard Current Albums Chart, his highest pop chart debut to date.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

June 2020 he released his seventeenth studio album Solid, describing it as "a reaction to how stressful the world feels these days. Music is a respite, it’s always ‘solid’ and never lets me down."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The CD broke his previous Pop Chart record, debuting at #10 on the Billboard Top Albums Chart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His eighteenth album Detour was released on September 23, 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

James is married to actress and director Lily Mariye and in 2012 he contributed an original score to her directorial feature film debut, Model Minority.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Discography

Number-ones

The following hit number-one on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Airplay chart.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Template:Abbr Initial peak date Title Weeks Template:Abbr
01. November 11, 2006 "The Total Experience" Template:Small 4 <ref name="The Total Experience – 4 weeks">"The Total Experience" – Nov 11 / Dec 2 / Dec 9 / Dec 30:
02. June 9, 2007 "Hypnotic" 3 <ref name="Hypnotic – 3 weeks">"Hypnotic" – Jun 9 / Jun 16 / Jun 23:
03. January 19, 2008 "Let It Go" 3 <ref name="Let It Go – 3 weeks">"Let It Go" – Jan 19 / Feb 2 / Feb 16:
04. March 7, 2009 "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" 8 <ref name="Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart) – 8 weeks">"Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" – Mar 7 / Mar 14 / Mar 21 / Mar 28 / Apr 4 / Apr 11 / Apr 18 / Apr 25:
05. May 7, 2011 "Contact" 5 <ref name="Contact – 5 weeks">"Contact" – May 7 / May 14 / May 21 / May 28 / Jun 4:
06. October 8, 2011 "Spin" 4 <ref name="Spin – 4 weeks">"Spin" – Oct 8 / Oct 15 / Oct 22 / Oct 29:
07. October 27, 2012 "Magical" Template:Small 3 <ref name="Magical – 3 weeks">"Magical" – Oct 27 / Nov 3 / Nov 10:
08. April 13, 2013 "Batucada (The Beat)" Template:Small 8 <ref name="Batucada (The Beat) – 8 weeks">"Batucada (The Beat)" – Apr 13 / Apr 20 / Apr 27 / May 4 / May 11 / May 18 / May 25 / Jun 1:
09. October 12, 2013 "Powerhouse" 2 <ref name="Powerhouse – 2 weeks">"Powerhouse" – Oct 12 / Oct 19:
10. May 23, 2015 "Drumline" 6 <ref name="Drumline – 6 weeks">"Drumline" – May 23 / May 30 / Jun 6 / Jun 13 / Jun 20 / Jun 27:
11. November 7, 2015 "Vinyl" 2 <ref name="Vinyl – 2 weeks">"Vinyl" – Nov 7 / Nov 14:
12. April 30, 2016 "A Little Attitude" 1 <ref name="A Little Attitude – 1 week">"A Little Attitude" – Apr 30:
13. October 14, 2017 "Tick Tock" 4 <ref name="Tick Tock – 4 weeks">"Tick Tock" – Oct 14 / Oct 21 / Oct 28 / Nov 4:
14. April 7, 2018 "On the Prowl" 3 <ref name="On the Prowl – 3 weeks">"On the Prowl" – Apr 7 / Apr 14 / Apr 21:
15. September 1, 2018 "Up All Night" 4 <ref name="Up All Night – 4 weeks">"Up All Night" – Sep 1 / Sep 8 / Sep 15 / Sep 22:
16. May 23, 2020 "Solid" 1 <ref name="Solid – 1 week">"Solid" – May 23:
17. October 17, 2020 "Full Effect" 2 <ref name="Full Effect – 2 weeks">"Full Effect" – Oct 17 / Oct 24:
18. December 25, 2021 "Sundance" 1 <ref name="Sundance – 1 week">"Sundance" – Dec 25:
19. October 1, 2022 "Bring It Back" Template:Small 1 <ref name="Bring It Back – 1 week">"Bring It Back" – Oct 1:
20. April 20, 2024 "Cigar Lounge" Template:Small 3 <ref name="Cigar Lounge – 3 weeks">"Cigar Lounge" – Apr 20 / May 4 / May 11:
21. December 7, 2024 "Slide" 3 <ref name="Slide – 3 weeks">"Slide" – Dec 7 / Jan 11 / Jan 18:

References

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